Davy Horan's last stand with Bruff RFC in the Ulster Bank League

Reporter:

Colm Kinsella, Rugby Correspondent

13 May 2018

Email:

ckinsella@limerickleader.ie

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Bruff's David Horan looks to slip past Richmond's Stephen Collins in an Ulster Bank League fixture

“I HAVE been an AC/DC fan since college. I was never one for traditional Irish music much and when the lads would be having a few drinks on the coach on the way home from games and they'd get up and sing 'The Fields of Athenry' or 'The Wild Colonial Boy', or some other Irish ballad, I wouldn't have had that in my back pocket.

“The only thing I could stand up to sing was, 'You Shook Me All Night Long' by AC/DC and I think people were baffled and impressed by it at the same time! It caught on.

"I can't remember who suggested we should sing it instead of singing our traditional victory song, but it has stuck around. I am just wondering what they will do now that I'm gone, will they revert back to the ‘Wild Colonial Boy’ or will some of the young lads learn the lyrics to it?”

Prop Davy Horan signed off on his 13-year Ulster Bank League career on Saturday in the middle of the Kilballyowen Park pitch as his Bruff side secured their senior status with a nail-biting play-off win over Bandon.

Horan, brother of former Munster and Ireland prop Marcus, who turns 34 later this month, moved to Bruff from Shannon RFC to play U-20s.

The teacher in Boher NS, Co Tipperary had been a key member of the St Munchin’s College Munster Schools Senior Cup winning team of 2002, a side which included a strong Bruff influence.

Horan recalled "Coming into Munchin's was probably the first time I seriously took up sport. Marcus (Horan) will always say I wasn't much of a sportsman, back then when I was brought to Shannon for games, I was more likely to be digging in a sand pit than actually watching the game. Munchin's was the first time I took rugby seriously.

"My first year playing AIL was 2005. I came on against Instonians in the North and came on as a sub.

"It would have been an utterly unique atmosphere of a team made up of rural lads. At first, I was probably the only outsider involved in the team, the lads would have grown up together and had played rugby together and possibly had the same coaches the whole way up.

"There wasn't anyone there looking for a pay day, the lads were there for the love of the club. That always made it easier to travel out there week in and week out.”

The highlights of Davy Horan’s career included being part of Bruff’s first ever Munster Senior Cup and All-Ireland Bateman Cup winning sides of 2011.

Horan was relieved at full-time on Saturday as Bruff maintained their senior status for next season.

He said: "It was a massive sense of relief at full-time. I think I had enough games over my career that we lost in the last seconds that I genuinely didn't celebrate until the ball was dead and the whistle was gone.

"I had almost decided that I would walk away at the end of last season, but when I came to the end I just couldn't pull the trigger on finishing up.

"I said I would come back. I had said to my wife and promised myself that I would finish up and not keep going until I just couldn't go any more, that I would be able to walk off the field in tact.

"I dunno about doing some coaching at some stage in the future , to be honest. I have always known enough to be a prop, I don't think I know enough about the numbers beyond one to be able to give advice to people.

“I would never say never, maybe working with younger lads would make it something tenable for me.

"I have played 13 seasons of senior rugby and I have never been on a team which lost fewer games than they were unbeaten in and were still in a relegation battle.

“With a little bit of tweaking, I believe Bruff will find themselves in the mix for promotion out to Division 2C next season.”

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